Cookie Queen & Blondeswunder in London 2017

May 23, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 25 Comments

Blondeswunder
Val the Cookie queen
.

Hey APJ Family, Happy Tuesday!

As soon as Mummy and I landed in Brexit we met up with the lovely and good friend Tara. She whisked us straight to Brick Lane
for some Indian food. I had aubergine drenched in some kind of spices sauce. It was sooooo good that I asked how they prepared
the aubergine. Turns out they freaking deep fried it twice. THAT´S WHY! Hahahaha.

Of course we were sniffing and sharing our thoughts over dinner because Indian cuisine isn´t fragrant enough alone. 🙂

Cookie Queen & Blondeswunder in London 2017

The next day, after two cups of English tea and countless visits to various loos along the way, we finally made it to the Frederic Malle store. I was very pleased to see a handsome, well put together young male SA, Pawel. Sadly for me he has an Italian boyfriend. Should have known! We got to smell and spritz perfume all over our bodies. I couldn´t chose so just went with Carnal Flower, Dries Van Noten, Eau de Magnolia, and Malle`s newest, Superstitious.

Of course when I had no more skin space I discovered Lipstick Rose. OH MY GOOOSH. So good. So soft. So me. Pawel was nice enough to give me a 3.5ml sample bottle to try it properly. Tara, Mummy and I were ready to kill with our sillage as we left for our pre-booked tour of Highgate Cemetery. We ended the day in Camden Market eating street food and chips.

The Thursday saw us meeting a close family friend of ours, Kirk, The Softboy Scentmaster. (My mum pulled him down the rabbit hole a couple of years ago.) Somehow our plans got changed and Mother dragged us back into the Malle store. I grabbed four spritzes of Dries Van Noten and covered my hair in the Carnal Flower hair mist. (Which I need in my life!) We then proceeded to the Gielgud Theatre just off Piccadilly, to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. It was absolutely brilliant. (We kept smelling each others necks and arms, and getting looks from the people around us. I mean, haven´t they ever seen people smelling each other every two seconds in public?)

Early evening we got to meet up with The Candy Perfume Boy and his lovely husband, on the bank of the Thames outside the Tate Modern.

Even though I am 22 and my Mother occasionally drives me nuts (mostly because I seem to be turning into her) we had the best time in London. And I was so happy to see Tara again, she is one of the strongest women I know, and I so look up to her and what she has achieved. How great it is to find such friends and peace and joy in perfume.

What are your FM favourites? DO you like perfume to be private or do you like letting people know?

Hugs
Blondeswunder

PS. Mother here – What can I add? I bought 10mls each of Dries Van Noten and Une Rose. I came home with big decants
of La Pausa 28, OJ Champaca, and Goutal´s Songes EdT and a Papillon´s Dryad sample. A non-perfumista friend went crazy for Outrageous! I missed Vanessa from Bonkers being able to join us, but shit happens. I feel blessed to have a daughter that actually wants to go away with me for a few days, she lights up my life with her humour and sunny character. CQ xxx

(Ed: Thanks for the photos Val and Hannah. Love them all)

Oliver & Co + LuckyScent Sample

May 22, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 23 Comments

Portia

Hey Crew,

I was looking through my unused/untried/unloved samples today.In the box there are a few of the LuckyScent Sample Bags. Every month they put together a bunch of samples of their new, seasonal or interesting stuff. I like to buy these packs because invariably there are a few things I would NEVER try on my own. Also I trust the LuckyScent guys to have the best of the best. If they’re flogging it then it must be in some way spectacular.

In every couple of bags though there are things I have already tried. So there are a bunch of bags in the box with the vials as yet unopened. Today we are giving away one such set. A company that doesn’t get enough attention on blogs or press but who recently won a big award, the Duftstar 2017 for “Best Artistic Independent Perfume” for their latest offering Ambergreen.

M.O.U.S.S.E. by Oliver & Co 2012

Fragrantica

Oliver & Co gives these featured accords:
Aldehydes, clove bud, iso e super, lavender absolute, lime, Mysore sandalwood, oakmoss, white musks

Spicy clove and green notes, peppery. Zingy, glittering spices that seem to shoot from my arm like the reflected lights of a disco ball through the light smoky haze of a club. Metallic, cool and sharp through the heart I find M.O.U.S.S.E. both challenging and alluring. My nose continually sniffing for changes in mood and texture. They come slowly and with graceful dignity, nothing in M.O.U.S.S.E. is fast paced after the initial fireworks. It’s gradual sliding into a new fragrant level.

Only towards the very deepest dry down does M.O.U.S.S.E. show any sign of warming through, as if my personal scent is finally winning the battle with this fragrant interstellar intruder and finally humanising it. The ride is sensational without being too freaky for daily wear.

Oliver & Co has €110/50ml
LuckyScent has some of the range $130/50ml

LuckyScentOliver & Co Sample GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week there will be 1 winner who will receive:
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co Dunard LuckyScent Sample
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co Gincense LuckyScent Sample
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co La Colonia LuckyScent Sample
1 x 0.7ml Oliver & Co M.O.U.S.S.E. LuckyScent Sample
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Please go to the Oliver & Co site <<JUMP and tell us in the comments a Fragrance and ONE Ingredient (Don’t be greedy and name more than one, those entries will be ignored) NO DOUBLE UPS

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Wednesday 24th May 2017 10pm Australian EdsT and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 31st May 2017 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit

Saturday Question: What Is Your Favourite Fragrance House?

May 20, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 170 Comments

Portia

Hello Fellow Fumies,

I have had an idea. Well, actually I’m copying an idea from Olfactoria’s Travels. Once a week there used to be a Question. Everyone would chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it would be a generally fun events each week. Taking sides never meant taking offence and everyone kept it respectful and light.

I’d like to carry on that tradition, maybe you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

If we get over 150 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card. Every comment will get a place in the draw, so if you comment purposefully on your own or another comment you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw the winner on Friday and the winner will be announced in next Saturdays question.

Last Weeks Winner: hajusuuri

Send me an eMail to portia _ turbo at yahoo dawt com dawt au

Saturday Question:

What Is Your Favourite Fragrance House?

Definition of Fragrance House today is pretty simple. Any brand, independent, designer, niche, artisanal that makes fragrance for personal scenting. You might like to talk about your favourite multinational designer house or your round the corner independent perfumer. No judgement on your choice, everything is grist for our APJ Saturday Question Mill.

Also, we are asking the question for today. Right now. this is not an enduring answer that we will hold you to in future. Don’t think too heavily about it but do please have some reasons why.

My answer:
OK, so the houses I have the most full bottles from are Guerlain and CHANEL, followed closely by Serge Lutens, DIOR, Patou, Amouage and Rochas. The thing is though, the question is What Is My Favourite Fragrance House and I think the answer this week, subject to change on a whim, is DSH Perfumes.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz makes such an enormous range of scents from the sharpest green to the densest orientals. Her deft hand in creating luminous scents with ingredients that many independent perfumers make dull quagmires of dreck with is astonishing. Across the most enormous range of styles and hefts my personal experience of DSH Perfumes has been excellent.

Somehow DSH Perfumes fit my personal smell and add to it beautifully. Though not ALL the range is perfect the ratio of hit to miss is astounding. She is fearless and unafraid of risk, does not make to a room full of test dummies but creates beauty for beauties sake.

So my question to you is

What Is Your Favourite Fragrance House?

Citron d`Erable by Atelier Cologne 2016

May 19, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Portia

Hi there APJ,

On Google translate the meaning of Citron d`Erable is Lemon of Maple, whatever that means. It is not, as I originally heard it, Citron Terrible. OOOPSIE! Citron d’Erable is sold as a Limited Edition among the Atelier Cologne Collection Azur and comes in a darker than azure bottle. I like the simplicity of the Atelier flasks, they are very cool and slightly nerdy/hipster. When I see them in the coloured glass I think of the person who has a single bottle of fragrance at any one time. In my imagination that fragrance bottle probably sits on a bathroom counter or bedroom bureau and adds a feeling of industrial intimacy in an often minimalist environment. That splash of interesting, flamboyance even, in a stark and modern taste void.

Citron d`Erable by Atelier Cologne 2016

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Maple syrup, Calabrian bergamot, Sicilian mandarin
Heart: Chinese sichuan pepper, Eucalyptus, French blackcurrant
Base: Maple wood, Cedarwood, Sequoia

This fragrance was originally produced in 2016 for Canadian Sephora exclusively. It seems that it made the cut to the range but could still be a Limited Edition. It’s only just landed in Australia so I’m pretty excited to have a sample that the Libertine Parfumerie crew sent me. Thanks guys.

Citron d’Erable opens with a startling citrus, so strong and fizzy. I spritzed on my chest and even from there I was surprised by the enormity of it and wondered if I may have overspritzed. Luckily within a few seconds the screech had subsided and a luscious citrus, like a multi citrus juice or freshly cut oranges, limes, lemons, mandarines or grapefruit came through. It’s delightful and warmed through by the maple syrup slowly over the next 10 minutes.

PDI

The citrus doesn’t leave though, it stays and becomes sweetened by blackcurrant. Bittersweetened actually. It provides interesting counterpoint to the citrus & maple. That’s kind of where Citron d’Erable stays on my skin. It wafts around for quite a while only getting slightly drier and woodsier towards dry down.

If you are a fruity fragrance fan this will definitely be your jam. You like the Escada frags? This is a posh version of their screech. I’m thinking it might lure some who are not so impressed by the genre as well. It feels like an expensively created shimmery fruit fragrance.

PDI

Further reading: Colognoisseur
Libertine Parfumerie has $199/100ml with FREE Australian Shipping

How does a warm citrus for cooler weather sound to you?
Portia xx

PG25 Indochine by Pierre Guillaume for Parfumerie Générale 2011

May 18, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 13 Comments

Portia

Hey Swett Scenters,

As you know I madly adore Pierre Guillaume. He makes a bunch of fragrances I love and a few noses that I really admire claim he’s as good as I think he is. That’s enough for me. He seems to be able to make what we modernly think of as a masculine idea, the woods, and create this non bloke=ish, sweet and gourmand event with them. THEN, to add to the joy these woodsy notes remain wearable by both sexes. The sweetness never eclipses the basic woodiness and once on masculine skin WOW! So beautiful.

PG25 Indochine by Parfumerie Générale 2011

PG25 Indochine by Pierre Guillaume

Fragrantica

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Cambodian pepper, Sri Lankan cardamom
Heart: Thanaka wood, Laotian honey
Base: Benzoin Siam

Sweet, honeyed amber is my opening impression. It doesn’t take long though for dry black ground pepper to sneak in underneath and lift the thickness, creating some counterpoint. It’s still filled with a golden glow though and warms me right through. Pretty and comfortable for our cooling temps.

Indochina wears as a sweet peppery amber that gets woodsier as it dries down. I find the honey clean and sweet with only the softest hint of animals. I love how through the day as I personally start to smell a little lived in the fragrance moves and grows more human with me. It never becomes nasty or growly but does lose some of its new minted, just showered feel.

I had a few compliments on this tonight. One of the club workers kept coming over to smell me and tell me all the things it made her think of, plus a couple of other random compliments. A clear winner.

Who could wear Indochina? Anyone who likes their woods sweetened or their honey clean. It is a very intimate scent without the usual siren calls of sexiness. Very dressed up or casual, no problem. Initially sillage is quite prominent but after about an hour & a half it becomes a much closer sweetness. An excellent scent for wearing to undress.

Further reading: Olfactoria’s Travels and Scented Hound
LuckyScent has $125/50ml + Samples

Do you have a favourite Pierre Guillaume fragrance?
Portia xx

Citrus Ester by Amélie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel for Aether 2016

May 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Portia

Hiya Frag Freaks,

Modern is the catch cry of Aether, these guys use nothing but captured and created molecules in their scents. A far cry from the old school beauty of naturals and their multifaceted wearings. Here we have industrial scent for the 21st century that manages to remain beautiful, interesting and wearable. When the range first came out I judged them to be ghastly without ever trying one, just because of the concept, but every time I wear one my incredulity falls away and I’m swayed towards their concept.

I grabbed this sample from Surrender To Chance.

Citrus Ester by Aether 2016

Citrus Ester by Amélie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel

Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Grapefruit, rhubarb, methyl pamplemousse

Sharp sweetness, ferociously clean, cold spoon on tongue, clean sink, fresh air, metal, citrus, ropey greenness. I have never smelled citrus done like this. Captivating and obnoxious. HA! A non animalic grapefruit with a never grown in the earth rhubarb.

I can imagine people who loved L’Eau d’Issey in the 1990s but found it too of its time to continue wearing it will love Citrus Ester. It’s a modern reimagining of the classic but with added sugar and airiness.

Great staying power and fresh to the last whiff, but a different to what we’re used to fresh. This fresh is still invigorating, doesn’t really move around much, nods to cologne as it flies past in a space ship.

Perfect work scent, I can especially imagine it being an excellent after gym scent. Once your body has heated up with a workout, you’ve showered off but this over your bodies innate humanity will be excellent.

PDI

From Aether: CITRUS ESTER. IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IT WAS ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WORLD. ONE OF THOSE DAYS THAT SEEMS TO STRETCH OUT FOREVER, AND YOU ARE NOT QUITE SURE THERE IS GOING TO BE A SECOND. THE MOMENT QUIVERS WITH ENERGY. AN ENERGY GHOST, BRIGHT (METHYL GRAPEFRUIT) AND CARING, TINGED WITH A SLIGHT TASTE OF PRIMORDIAL FRUIT (FIRASCONE, RHUBAFURANE). LIFE, THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE.

Further reading: BL’eauG
Aether has AUD$145/50ml and delivers to the world
Surrender To Chance has samples from $3.60/0.5ml

Do you like the idea of a fragrance made entirely of captured and created molecules?
Portia xx

Le Sillage Blanc GIVEAWAY WINNER

May 11, 2017 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Portia

Hello APJers,

Thanks for getting involved.
Let’s see who won.

GOOD LUCK.
Portia xxx